Angels fine with higher strikes

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The new strike zone to be implemented this
season is fine with several Anaheim Angels' hitters, especially
considering it doesn't call for pitches off the plate to be called
strikes.

"I hope they do bring (the strike zone) up more, I like that
pitch. And if I don't have to reach for pitches, it makes it better
for me," Garret Anderson said Friday.

"I don't care, it's the same for everybody," Darin Erstad said.
"I'm sure there will be adjustments on everybody's part. The
umpires -- it's going to take time for them to adjust. It's going
to take time for the players to adjust. If it's the same for
everybody, it doesn't bother me at all."

Angels pitchers, for the most part, are happy to see the new
strike zone as well.

"If it happens, great," closer Troy Percival said. "I think it
will be good for everybody. I think it will get guys swinging the
bat a little bit more-speed the game up a little bit and maybe see
more action."

Judging from the reactions of pitching coach Bud Black and
hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, the issue of the new strike zone
would make for a great debate in the clubhouse.

"I think overall, yes, it will benefit the pitchers," Black
said. "I think there will be a lot of pitchers that will benefit
from the higher-called strike. Hitters are not conditioned to swing
at the high strike now. In time they might."

Not so, says Hatcher. And he has manager Mike Scioscia on his
side of the argument.

"I really think that it will be a lot easier for the hitters
than it will be for the pitchers to get used to the two zones,"
Hatcher said. "Pitchers have been taught to pitch on the outer part
of the plate.

"For me, as a hitter, knowing that the ball is going to be over
the plate and they're not going to call it (off the plate), it's a
better strike zone for the hitter."

Scioscia, a big-league catcher for 14 seasons, said he didn't
believe the new zone will give the pitchers much of an
advantage.

"Where you're extending the zone is really in a good hitting
zone," he said. "The end result, obviously, is there will be more
strikes called, but it's not a zone that a pitcher is going to want
to be in unless they're riding a fast ball up on a low-ball
hitter."

Some see benefits for the other side.

"I think there might be more adjustments to make," outfielder
Tim Salmon said. "The two-strike pitches are going to be the
biggest ones, because you're not used to even committing to those,
sometimes.

"There's some advantage for pitchers, but, hopefully, if you
don't have to cover the outside off the plate, if you're not having
to worry about that, then maybe that will allow you to handle that
pitch."

"I'm a sinker-ball pitcher," left-hander Scott Schoeneweis said.
"And I'm only a second-year guy. I don't get calls off the
plate."